We hope you are busy playing pickleball, decking the halls, and spending time with your loved ones this holiday season. 🎄🎅 To give you a quick break from your last minute holiday shopping and celebrations, let's dive right in to the latest happenings, stories, tips, and more from the pickleball court!

And, if you are still not finished with your holiday shopping, grab 10% off any purchase at Fromuth Pickleball with the code "10PICKLER" (some exclusions apply)... pickleball is the perfect gift for anyone on your list! 🎁

#1. 7 PICKLEBALL RULE CHANGES TO LEARN FOR 2022

Before you hit the pickleball courts in 2022, there are some important additions, deletions, and other revisions to the rules of pickleball that you must be aware of. Click here to learn these important 2022 pickleball rule changes now. 🤔

#2. "BE A GOLDFISH"

"Be a goldfish." If you say it enough and believe it, this can be a mantra that brings you through those frustrating moments on the pickleball court.

​Click here to learn why "be a goldfish" may be the solution for any dispiriting moments on the pickleball court.

This one is a must read. It is written by a new contributing writer to Pickler, Frank Cerabino. Frank is a long-time columnist for the Palm Beach Post in Florida, a pickleball addict like the rest of us, as well as a newly published author, as he just released his new book, I Dink, Therefore I Am: Coming to Grips with My Pickleball Addiction (available on Amazon and a great read (or gift!) for any pickleball player). Please join us in a sending Frank a BIG WELCOME 🤗 and be on the lookout for what we hope are many articles and writings from Frank in the future (including another article in this newsletter below 👇)!

#3. WATERS SPOTLIGHT - TEAM WATERS HITS THE PODCAST MIC 🎙

We have all been following Leigh and Anna Leigh Waters - also known as Team Waters - on their pickleball journey. Well, this past weekend was a big one...

Please join us here at Pickler in giving A BIG CONGRATS to our friends, Leigh and Anna Leigh 👏👏, as they successfully defended their national championship title and became back-to-back national champions 🏆🏆! Plus, Anna Leigh snagged her first-ever singles national championship title, and took over the #1 ranking for women's singles!

In case you missed it, tune in to the video below to hear your back-to-back USA Pickleball National Champions, as they joined Pickler founder, Stacie Townsend, and her co-host John "The People's Champ" Davison, to discuss defending their national championship title, winning mindsets, good days and bad days on the pickleball court, as well as answer 20 questions related to pickleball and life.

And, don't forget to subscribe to Pickler's YouTube page, so you never miss another Pickler video - whether it be a podcast, pickleball tip video, or other can't-miss video.

Team Waters will be taking a well-deserved break until 2022, which is right around the corner. Until then, continue to follow Leigh's and Anna Leigh's journey here in Pickler's free pickleball newsletter, as well as on Instagram and Facebook.

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#4. GRAB THE 2022 EDITION OF THE PICKLEBALL DICTIONARY!

The Pickleball Dictionary is ready for the 2022 calendar year. Click here to grab the updated 3rd edition of The Pickleball Dictionary for FREE, and be "in the know" on all of the pickleball lingo before you hit the courts in the New Year! 🎉

#5. WOMEN'S CORNER - LEARNINGS FROM PLAYING IN FIRST PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT

If you are a tournament player, do you remember your thoughts after playing in your first pickleball tournament ever? If you are not a tournament player, are you curious what it would be like to play in a pickleball tournament? Well, we had the chance to sit down with relative newbie to the sport of pickleball, Ally Costa, after her very first pickleball tournament ever to try to answer these questions.

​Click here for the full recap and the takeaways from Ally's first tournament experience. 🔥

#6. PICKLEBALL MAGIC, BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT

One day, Roger BelAir decided to reach out to the Cook County Jail, as well as other lockups across the United States, to donate his time and services for free in order to introduce and teach the sport of pickleball to inmates at those institutions.

​Click here to learn why now, as well as how the sport of pickleball impacts these inmates across the country. 👏

#7. QUICK TIP - FROM YOUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!

In episode #2 of Pickler The Podcast, Team Waters joined Pickler founder, Stacie Townsend, and her mixed doubles partner and co-host, John "The People's Champ" Davison, during which Stacie and John asked Leigh and Anna Leigh for their best tip to take to the pickleball courts. Check out the video below for your reigning back-to-back national champions' 🏆🏆 best pickleball tips!

Bottom line: Move your feet and have fun! 😉

​A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR: VISTA TRAVEL & ROYAL CARIBBEAN​

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Pickleball and a cruise! Where do we sign up?! 👆

#8. HEADLINES FROM THE COURT

Serving up your pickleball headlines from the past two weeks... 🗞

• The Okanagan Wealth Advisors Pickleball Complex created the world's tallest pickleball Christmas tree 🎄 that was 12-feet high and featured approximately 350 pickleballs. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

• Pickleball continues its run through the major media outlets, as Bloomberg released an article on pickleball titled, "Move Over, Tennis and Golf. Networks and Brands Are Cashing In on Pickleball." Bloomberg discusses the "pickleball gold rush" from tournaments to restaurants and everything in between. Click here to read the full article.
• Japanese billionaire, Yusaku Maezawa, docked at the International Space Station in early December. During his trip, Maezawa asked for suggestions for 100 activities he should do in space 👽. Hosting a badminton tournament made the list... maybe next time a billionaire goes to space, he or she will host a pickleball tournament.
• The Bobby Riggs Racket & Paddle facility in Encinitas, California, opened their courts to the Seeds of Hope program and refugee children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇨🇩. The kids and teenagers play once a week and have not only improved their skills, but are learning life lessons along the way. Click here to read more.
• Over the last two weeks, there were two APP tour events - one in Casa Grande, Arizona and one in Port St. Lucie, Florida - as well as the crown jewel of pickleball tournaments, the USA Pickleball National Championships in Indian Wells, California. Across all of the events, many of the same pro pickleball faces and names were on top of the medal stand.
  • Starting with the Casa Grande Open, the Johnson family - mother, Julie, and kids, JW and Jorja - all took home medals in their respective events. Julie and JW continued their winning ways at the USA Pickleball National Championships, as each of them took home two medals in their respective pro brackets.
  • Speaking of winning, since her Major League Pickleball championship, Irina Tereschenko has rolled on the pickleball court, taking home gold in the Casa Grande Open, plus two pro medals at the USA Pickleball National Championships.
  • But, no one is feeling better than Anna Leigh Waters, Tyson McGuffin, and Riley Newman, who each took home double gold medals 🥇🥇 at the USA Pickleball National Championships. Anna Leigh successfully defended her national championship women's doubles title with her mother, Leigh Waters, and grabbed her first-ever women's singles title (plus a bronze medal in mixed doubles for a total of three medals). Tyson snagged similar medals on the men's side (plus a bronze medal with Anna Leigh in mixed doubles for a total of three medals), while Riley grabbed gold in both men's doubles and mixed doubles, which he won with his older sister, Lindsey Newman (who is 6.5 months pregnant 👶).
• Pickler The Podcast held its first live podcast 🎙, as co-hosts Stacie and John, and guest pickleball pro and coach Olivia McMillan, sat down to watch the USA Pickleball National Championships in Indian Wells, California. Click here to catch up on the action, as Stacie, John and Olivia talk pickleball - in particular, partnership tips, comments on the pros, struggles on the pickleball court, and recap the 2021 USA Pickleball National Championships.

#9. RULES REFRESH - BEWARE REFEREES!

Have you ever hit the referee with a pickleball during a rally? Do you know what the ruling is if you hit the referee 💥 (say, for instance, when you are going for an around the post shot)? This happened to one of our Pickler community members.

Unfortunately, if you hit the referee with the pickleball on your shot, then you have committed a fault and will lose the rally. Yes, you will lose the rally, even if you hit the most beautiful off-court shot that was 100% going in. This is because a referee is considered to be a "permanent object" on the pickleball court - just like the fence, the net posts, ceiling, etc. are all considered permanent objects. And, when the pickleball hits a permanent object before bouncing on the court, whoever hit the pickleball commits a fault and loses the rally. So, beware, and try to avoid, those referees out on the pickleball court!

For a deeper breakdown on all of the rules of pickleball, check out Pickler's Ultimate Guide to the Rules of Pickleball.

Have you had an interesting rules issue on the pickleball court? Send it to us at stacie@thepickler.com, so we can share with the rest of the pickleball community in a future newsletter.

#10. FROM THE ARCHIVES - TIPS FOR COURT POSITIONING

Court positioning is one of the most underrated concepts on the pickleball court. Where you are standing and how you move with your partner can significantly impact your success, or failure, on the pickleball court. This is why we are bringing back this Pickler pickleball blog from the archives for some basic reminders on where to be on the court for your best chances of success.

​Click here for tips on your court positioning in pickleball. Your game will thank you! 🙌

#11. LISTEN IN - PICKLER FOUNDER TALKS GROWTH OF PICKLEBALL

Pickler founder, Stacie Townsend, visited a local pickleball community this past week to talk about the growth of pickleball, as well as trends in the sport. Tune in 🎧 for a portion of her discussion below! You will be surprised at the numbers pickleball could reach in the next decade...

Bottom line: Pickleball is growing everywhere!

NEED A LAST-MINUTE HOLIDAY GIFT?

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Or, give yourself or your favorite partner the gift of better pickleball 🎁 with PickIer's best-in-class pickleball video lessons. For a fraction of the price of one clinic, and 24/7 access, grab over 140 video lessons (over 7 hours of instruction!), as well as a corresponding e-book, for 50% OFF! The Black Friday Sale continues for the holiday season!

HELP PICKLER GROW!

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BALL'S IN YOUR COURT...

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